S&S; Review: Remember Me

Title: Remember Me
Format: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: DONTNOD Entertainment
Price: $59.99
ESRB Rating: M


Remember Me is a brand new title from Capcom and DONTNOD Entertainment that looks to bring new unique mechanics into third person adventure games, but it struggles to find it's true identity.  What  you have is a good game that doesn't quite live up to it's potential.
Story and Presentation: 
Remember Me takes place in Paris, set during future, where technology allows people to exchange and purchase other people's memories.  Of course, the intense power over human emotion can bring out the bad in people and can actually prove to be dangerous.  Happy memories can be used like a drug, which leads to corruption and theft.  Like I said, there really isn't much out there that has a similar narrative, and it proves to be one the game's strongest components.  You play as Nilin, a young woman who's stuck dead in the middle of all the corruption.  The story's opening moments quickly connects you to her, as you're forced to witness her fear and confusion.  She escapes from her captivity into the welcoming arms of a separatist movement called the Errorists, where she realizes that she plays a bigger role than she thought.  You're set off to free the city from the corrupted technology, as well as recover her lost memories.  I really enjoyed the game's story, and it managed to stick with me long after I put the game down.  The visuals in the game are solid, and Neo-Paris is a great new setting for a game.  The weakest part of the presentation is the voice acting, it's pretty weak across the board.  The writing tries to force witty jokes and metaphors on you throughout the game, but none of them never really land. At least Nilin is voiced solidly, and since she's the main driving force behind the narrative, it helps to push the story even when it starts to become a bit dull.
Core Gameplay:
Remember Me is a third person adventure game at it's core, but it features a ton of other components that help create a complete experience.  The game mixes platforming, melee combat, and some light puzzle solving.  The bad thing is that the game is extremely linear, and you're just moving from one section to the next.  Platform, melee combat, cutscene, then you basically repeat in that same order.  The platforming is pretty solid, but the camera will go a little haywire at times.  This doesn't happen often, but when it does, it can take you out of the moment.  The combat is actually a lot of fun in the game, it's very simple, and it's pretty reminiscent to Batman: Arkham City.  The dodge mechanic keeps the action and your combos flowing, never getting dull.  If you want to get more out of the combat, then the Combo lab is where'll spend most of your time.  You'll be able to customize moves that regenerate health, inflict more damage, or cool down some of your more powerful attacks.  When you gain S-Pressens, or the more damaging attacks, they're cool but they don't really add that much to gameplay other than pretty visual flares.  The combat is good, and a lot of fun in the end, it just isn't as deep at I'd hoped.
Final Thoughts:
There really isn't much out there like Remember Me in games nowadays, and I applaud the developers for trying something new.  Unfortunately, the game never comes into it's own.  The narrative is great, but some blade voice acting holds it back.  Combat is a lot of fun, but it lacks true depth.  What you have in the end is a good game, just not a great one.
S&S Rating: 7/10 @whatsPlay